Chapter 1
My son, Milo, vanished three years ago. Ever since that day, I've been running on fumes and a desperate hope, searching for him relentlessly.
My doorstep sees a daily parade of impostors, people pretending they've found my boy, but they're always fakes.
But today feels different. There is a woman standing on my porch, a small boy about six years old hiding behind her legs.
She claims she has found my son.
I look down at the kid. He peeks out at me, and my breath catches in my throat. Undeniably, he looks a hell of a lot like me.
I am completely floored.
A frantic voice screams inside my head, "You've got this all wrong, lady."
I mean, sure, the kid and I are both devastatingly handsome.
But the "son" I've been tearing my world apart to find is a goddamn cat named Milo who answers to "pretty boy."
*****
"Mr. Bennett! I'm Linda Parker!
"I... I found your son! For real. I swear it!"
The word "son" hit me. My chest tightens before I can even think.
I yanked the door open. A woman stood on my porch, clutching the hand of a boy who couldn't have been a day over six.
My heart plummeted into an icy abyss.
Damn it!
Another grifter looked for a payday.
Over the last three years, they had brought me strays, purebreds, and even a poor tabby someone had tried to dye orange and white, all claiming to be my Milo.
But this woman brought an actual human child.
"Mr. Bennett! Look! This is Ethan. Ethan Parker!" Linda practically shouted, her voice shaking with either excitement or nerves.
She flinched as the door flew open, but a saccharine smile quickly spread across her face as she shoved the little boy forward.
He stumbled, nearly face-planting on my welcome mat. She didn't so much as glance down, instead thrusting a sheaf of papers into my face.
"And if you don't believe me, I have the DNA report! Look! It says it right here, in black and white. Ethan is your missing son! There's no mistake!"
I snatched the papers from her, my eyes scanning the results. A bitter laugh almost escaped me.
This was insane.
The son I lost was a cat.
A three-year-old, orange-and-white Maine Coon who wore a custom-made gold chain with a tiny, solid-gold paw charm was my boy!
Milo was not a six-year-old human child who looked like he could barely tie his own shoes.
This woman not only faked a DNA report, but she did it this badly. Did she really think I was an idiot?
"Mr. Bennett! What are you laughing at?"
Linda's smile cracked, her face hardening as she yanked Ethan back behind her.
"Ethan really is your son! I found him three years ago, next to a dumpster. He was shivering, and his little face was all blue from the cold. I have a good heart, so I took him in. I raised him!
"Do you have any idea how much I've suffered these past three years? The sacrifices I made, all for the hope that one day I could return him to you! And you just stand there and laugh?"
"You 'found' him?" I asked, my voice going flat.
I let the smile slide right off my face. My eyes go cold as I lock onto hers.
"Lady, he looks nothing like me. You have some nerve, trying to pull a fast one on me for a quick buck."
"How dare you!" Linda shrieked.
"What scam? Mr. Bennett, has grief completely scrambled your brain? Ethan was only three! Just a baby! How could I possibly be mistaken? And the report is right here! It's proof! You can't just deny him!"
I didn't have the patience to argue. I moved to slam the door in her face.
"Get out," I snarled. "Take your 'son' and get off my property. You stay here one more second and I'm calling the cops. We'll let them sort out your little forgery act."
"Mr. Bennett, you can't!" Linda cried, her voice cracking.
She jammed her hand in the doorway, blocking it.
"We've been through so much! Ethan has dreamed of meeting his father for three years! How can you be so heartless?"
She spun around and gave the little boy a hard nudge.
"Ethan! Now! Call him 'Dad'! Tell him not to make us leave!"
"I'm your son! Dad, please don't send us away!"
Ethan wailed, his voice wobbling in a sob. But his eyes were bone dry.
Watching their pathetic act made my stomach churn.
I opened my mouth to tell them exactly where they could go, but my gaze snagged on Ethan's wrist.
It was a faded red string, and dangling from it was a single, gleaming gold bead.
It wasn't round. It was shaped like a tiny cat's paw. And there, etched along the edge, was the secret marking I had had the artisan add, a tiny groove that only I would ever recognize.
That was Milo's collar.
My brain short-circuited. Everything went silent.
How in the hell did these two have Milo's collar?
Where was Milo?
Was my cat in their hands?
What did they do to him?
Linda's eyes followed my stare, and a flicker of panic crossed her face.
"Mr. Bennett! What are you looking at? Don't look at Ethan! We can talk this out. Just tell me what you want!"
I took a ragged breath, forcing down the tidal wave of rage and terror.
I couldn't freak out now. Milo was connected to them somehow. If I blew up now and they panicked, they might hurt him.
In a split second, my entire demeanor shifted. I plastered a stiff smile on my face.
"My apologies. I was out of line. This search has taken its toll on me. My emotions are a wreck. You have the report. Of course. Please, come in. It's cold out here. We can talk."
Linda stared, completely thrown by my change.
She hesitated, eyes flicking up and down my face like she was checking for a trap. When she didn't see one, she nudged Ethan over the threshold.
"See? That's all I wanted. To talk. I told you he was your son..."